, abbreviated kmd (, official Captain) is the most senior rank of commissioned officer below that of
flag officer
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command.
Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways:
* ...
(i.e.
admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
s) in the
Swedish Navy
The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...
, ranking below
rear admiral (lower half) and above
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
. The rank is equivalent to
colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
in the
Swedish Army
The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years.
History
Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...
,
Swedish Air Force and the
Swedish Amphibious Corps
The Amphibious Corps (, Amf) is the Marines, marine infantry arm of the Swedish Navy, with an emphasis on coastal defence. It has its roots in the Swedish Coastal Artillery, coastal artillery (, KA) but after the end of the Cold War it was seen as ...
.
History
A captain used to serve
as commander of
ships of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...
.
The rank was introduced in 1674 as the title of the chief of staff of a squadron commander in the fleet. In 1729, there were thirteen captains admitted to the Admiralty of Sweden (''Amiralitetskollegiet''). Captain in the navy was changed in 1771 to
colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
. During the 1824 regulation, the rank of colonel was changed to a new rank with the name
commander of the 1st class (''kommendörkapten av 1:a klassen''), but in 1845 the rank of captain was reintroduced.
During the first half of the 20th century, the captain served on board as squadron commander, division commander (
coastal defence ship division) and as
flag captain, ashore as station commander or shipyard commander, head of the
Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration
The Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration (, KMF) was the central board of the Swedish Navy in technical and economic terms. It was active between the years 1878 and 1968 when it was disbanded and amalgamated into the Defence Materiel Adm ...
, department head there and in the
Naval Staff, corps commander, etc. There were eight captains in the Swedish Navy in 1911.
Previously, captain was a rank between rear admiral and commander of the 1st class (''kommendörkapten av 1:a graden''),
then between ''
kommendör av 1. graden'' (
senior captain) and commander (''kommendörkapten''), but today it is a rank between
rear admiral (lower half) and commander.
Promotion
Responsible head of promotion for a captain is the
Director of Human Resources at the
Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters.
Uniform
Shoulder mark
The top
galloon is shaped like a "loop" for an officer in the
Swedish Navy
The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...
(the loop is shaped like a "grenade" for an officer in the
Swedish Amphibious Corps
The Amphibious Corps (, Amf) is the Marines, marine infantry arm of the Swedish Navy, with an emphasis on coastal defence. It has its roots in the Swedish Coastal Artillery, coastal artillery (, KA) but after the end of the Cold War it was seen as ...
). The rank insignia is worn on the shoulder mark to jacket and coat (''jacka m/87'', ''kappa m/87''), as well as to blue wool sweater (''blå ylletröja m/87''), trench coat (''trenchcoat m/84''), sea coat (''sjörock 93'', black raincoat and to white shirt (''vit skjorta m/78'').
Rank insignia on shoulder mark (''axelklaffshylsa 02B'') is worn on all garments with shoulder straps.
1. The shoulder mark (''Axelklaffshylsa m/02B'') is designed as galloons sewn directly to another shoulder mark (''axelklaffshylsa m/87 blå'').
2. Before 2003, captains wore three 8 mm gold galloons and a loop of 16 mm gold galloons m/51.
3. The
wowen shoulder mark (''AXELKLAFFSHYLSA M/02 INVÄVD KOMMENDÖR FLOTTAN'') is worn on the naval combat dress (''sjöstridsdräkt m/93''), duty uniform (''arbetsdräkt m/87 (blå)'') and
combat uniform (''Fältuniform m/90 lätt'', ''m/90 lätt blå'', ''m/90 tropik'' (green, beige and blue)).
File:OF-5 Kommendör FL hylsa.jpg, 1. Embroidered shoulder mark
A shoulder mark, also called a rank slide or slip-on, is a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform. It may bear rank or other insignia. A shoulder mark should not be confused with a (an elaborate shoulder strap), a (a brai ...
(2003–present)
File:OF-5 Kommendör 1987-2000 FL hylsa.jpg, 2. Embroidered shoulder mark
A shoulder mark, also called a rank slide or slip-on, is a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform. It may bear rank or other insignia. A shoulder mark should not be confused with a (an elaborate shoulder strap), a (a brai ...
(–2003)
File:OF-5 Kommendör FL hylsa02.jpg, 3. Wowen shoulder mark
A shoulder mark, also called a rank slide or slip-on, is a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform. It may bear rank or other insignia. A shoulder mark should not be confused with a (an elaborate shoulder strap), a (a brai ...
(2003–present)
Sleeve insignia
Rank insignia is worn on both sleeves for inner
suit jacket
A suit jacket, also called a lounge jacket, dress jacket, lounge coat or suit coat, is a jacket in classic menswear that is part of a suit.
History
The jacket was originally a work jacket that came into fashion due to the French Revolution. It ...
(''innerkavaj m/48'') and
mess jacket
The mess jacket is a type of formal jacket that ends at the waist. It features either a non-fastening double breast cut or a single-breasted version that fastens. (''mässjacka m/1878'').
1. On the sleeve an 11 mm
galloon m/51 with
chevron and three 11 mm galloons m/51. Galloon 12.6 mm rank insignia (''gradbeteckning m/02'') (navy or amphibious corps). 12.6 mm galloon m/02 gradually replaces 11 mm galloon m/51. The distance between galloons should be 6 mm. The distance from the bottom edge of the sleeve to the bottom edge of the top galloon should be 100 mm. This sleeve insignia was worn by a commander (''kommendörkapten'') until 2003.
2. Before 2003, captains wore three 11 mm gold galloons and a loop of 23 mm gold galloon m/51.
Hats
Peaked cap
A captain wears as embellishments (known as
scrambled egg) a gold embroidered
laurel wreath
A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...
(''skärmbroderi m/49'') on the visor of the
peaked cap
A peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It d ...
(''skärmmössa m/48''). It also fitted with a hat badge (''mössmärke m/78 off för flottan'') and with a strap in form of a golden
braid
A braid (also referred to as a plait; ) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing three or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair.
The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strand ...
(''mössträns m/42'').
Side cap and winter hat
An officer wears a hat badge (''mössmärke m/78 off'') for the navy and another (''mössmärke m/87 off'') for amphibious units on the side cap (''båtmössa m/48'') and on the winter hat (''vintermössa m/87'').
Aiguillette
A captain wears a large
aiguillette (''stor ägiljett m/1816'') to
mess dress
Mess dress uniform is the most formal (or semi-formal wear, semi-formal, depending on the country) type of evening-wear uniform used by military personnel, Police officer, police personnel, and other uniformed services members. It frequently ...
,
service dress uniform in connection with representation (equivalent), and to
full dress uniforms. For uniform parts without a shoulder strap (''axelklaff''), a shoulder girdle is used in the navy (if applicable with a royal name cipher) to attach a large aiguillette to the shoulder next to the shoulder seam. For the inner jacket (''innerkavaj m/48'') and the
mess jacket
The mess jacket is a type of formal jacket that ends at the waist. It features either a non-fastening double breast cut or a single-breasted version that fastens. , the aiguillette is attached to two small buttons under the coat.
File:Royal_Wedding_Stockholm_2010-Konserthuset-413.jpg, Large aiguillette (''Stor ägiljett m/1816'') on mess uniform
Epaulette
A captain wears
epaulette's (''epålett m/1878'') to
white tie
White tie, also called full evening dress or a dress suit, is the most formal evening Western dress code. For men, it consists of a black tail coat (alternatively referred to as a dress coat, usually by tailors) worn over a white dress shir ...
(''frack m/1878'') and to coat (''rock m/1878''). On the epaulette, a captain wears 7 mm and 4 mm (within)
fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts and music
* "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* Purple fri ...
in two rows.
Personal flags
The command flag of a captain (and for a
senior captain,
colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
and
senior colonel), is the so-called ''Örlogsstandert'' ("Navy Standard"), which is a triangular swallowtailed flag per fess blue and yellow.
The Navy Standard is carried on Swedish Navy ships, from which the captain exercises his command, or on which he travels in the service, but with the same restriction as for the admiral, etc.
The command flag received its current appearance in 1927.
Gun salute
When raising or lowering flags of the commander's, squadron, department or division commander, a gun salute is given with 11 rounds for captain (17 for admiral, 15 for vice admiral and 13 for rear admiral).
References
Notes
Print
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kommendör
Military ranks of the Swedish Navy
sv:Kommendör